Warning: Captain America: Civil War spoilers ahead.
A new superhero was born in Avengers: Age of Ultron when Tony Stark’s A.I. took on a more human-ish form as Vision, brought to life for the big screen by Paul Bettany. Bettany got to reprise the role in the new Captain America: Civil War, when Vision took the side of Team Iron Man, in favor of the Sokovia Accords, fighting against Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and friends.
During a recent interview with the folks over at Entertainment Weekly, Bettany provided a bit more insight into his character. The limits to Vision’s abilities came early in Civil War with the reminder that he is not human, and therefore cannot eat. This led to the heartfelt moment where he attempted to cook for Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch.
“I think he has a real connection with Scarlet Witch,” says Bettany. “They both have these new burgeoning powers that they don’t understand, and they don’t know how powerful they are, and that must be kind of scary. And so I think he’s worried that they’re both dangerous. So he feels this real connection with her. And she’s a bit of a depressive at the moment so he’s just trying to cook for her.”
However, an inability to actually eat doesn’t keep Vision from understanding human emotions. He finds a way to understand love.
“He has logic in abundance,” says Bettany. “And logic does not afford any room for loyalty. New information could come to light and he might flip to Captain America’s side. But love solidifies things and provides loyalty. So if he’s there to protect mankind – or frankly, the universe – he needs to figure out what’s good about these creatures, and I think that’s the quest that you find him on. And, of course, in the comics, the relationship becomes romantic. We’ll see moving forward what happens for Vision and Wanda.”
As far as the progression of Vision’s character, his growth comes with mistakes.
“You see him in the first movie, he’s born. He’s omnipotent, but he’s incredibly naïve. And in this movie he’s kind of beginning to take a more paternal role in the superhero family, and he’s growing at an exponential rate, and by the end of the movie he has a real emotion and real human reaction and he makes first mistake that he’s ever made.”
Vision’s mistake left Rhodey paralyzed after he missed his target when firing at Sam Wilson, a moment that left team members from both sides reconsidering the stakes in the battle they were fighting.
“What happened there is that his judgment was clouded there by real love and affection,” says Bettany. “And he responded in a quick and thoughtless way.… I really love that the moral compass of the movie is this synthetic person who’s trying to figure out what it means to be human. It’s a neat idea, you know?”
You can watch, and re-watch, Vision’s emotional journey in Captain America: Civil War, which is in theaters now. In the meantime, what did you think of his feelings toward Wanda, and his dramatic miss-fire that left Rhodey paralyzed? Sound off in the comments below!
Source: Entertainment Weekly
